"She's blown into the ditch." But the next minute he steps on her,
picks her up; sounds as if she said something but her head is wrapped
in a poncho, man gets her back to the house and lays her on her bed.
Sends peon, who does not know what he is doing and anyway, they won't
touch anything struck by lightning--to the nearest house where there
is a native woman, cooking.
Petrona came, and did what was necessary. Evelina was dead when picked
up very heavy to carry. Only one little hole was burned in the poncho
and brown mark as big as one's finger nail on the back of her neck.
They put four candles around her in one corner and left. Man slept
in another corner and kept candles alight for them. They would not
stop and said the devil would come for her and take the man as well.
Man said the devil probably had better places to go to, and they said
he was the wickedest man they ever saw. Came back next afternoon and
spent the night singing, playing cards, praying, and drinking mate.
Two children went to sleep on the floor, man got up, put "kids" in his
bed, and joined the wake. Next day they took Evelina away and left the
man alone again.
[Illustration: Rats! Musk Rats.]
[Illustration: On the Calumet.]